San Diego, CA based SENTRE, dba Warwick Hillcrest, LLC., has acquired an 80 room hotel with plans to convert the hotel to luxury apartments. Originally built in 1986 as an 81-unit apartment community, the property at 606 Washington Street has been operating as the Sommerset Suites Hotel for the past 20 years. “With San Diegans increasingly searching for high quality, amenity-rich, and centrally located places to live, we saw an opportunity to return the property to its original apartment use, creating a perfect addition to our growing “SENTRE Living” portfolio”, says Doug Arthur, SENTRE President & CEO. Located at the crossroads of Hillcrest’s major axes, SENTRE will rebrand the property as “The Warwick” (www.thewarwickhillcrest.com).

With local architecture firm Carrier Johnson + CULTURE leading the design effort, SENTRE plans on investing over $3,000,000 in the asset to create a reimagined indoor-outdoor social lounge, hotel-style pool and sun deck, new state-of-the-art onsite fitness center, and luxuriously reappointed unit interiors. The Warwick will provide Hillcrest residents with an upscale, boutique living experience offering modern amenities with a vintage flair.

The purchase reflects SENTRE’s seventh San Diego multi-family acquisition in the past 5 years, and third in the downtown San Diego area. In 2014, SENTRE acquired the 90-unit The Barcelona (www.thebarcelona.com) in Bankers Hill, which is currently undergoing a comprehensive renovation of both unit interiors and amenity spaces.

HFF represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction, with Cannon Constructors and B&G Consultants leading the construction efforts. Sommerset Suites Hotel, located at 606 Washington St, was purchased for $19,500,000, or $245,000 per unit.